FABULA NOVA CRYSTALLIS || INTRODUCTION LOG

[eternitymods]

Who: All characters (New Arrivals and Native OCs) When: April 11th Where: The Dream Width (Airship), the Curti Center, and the Housing District What: For the first time in 10 years, outworlders have been found the Dream Width. This unprecedented number of new arrivals are rescued and brought to Vaikuntha, and must now try to start adjusting to their new home. Warnings/Notes: All players can put up a toplevel. Please post to the NPC toplevel if you have an IC question for them. ARRIVAL [ You wake from your dreams, from your memories, on a narrow cot. There are fleeting impressions- recycled air, humming machinery, movement, strangers waking around you. The room you wake in is lined with cots, with barely enough space between them to walk to the door. The makeshift infirmary is becoming uncomfortably warm, packed to its capacity with people. Stepping out, there is a lobby space that bears the signs of having once held some furniture, now cleared away to make space. Even with the sparse accommodations, the space quickly fills to standing-room only. As the automatic door slides shut on the infirmary, a light flashes on the far side of the room. A flickering holographic projection of a man’s face and gloved hand appears projected in the space above the arrivals’ heads. He backs up so his upper body is in frame for the recording. An arm, covered in the same orange flightsuit sleeve, hands him a tablet. The man begins to read. A written version of the message scrolls along the bottom of the projection as he speaks. ] ’Welcome travelers’… That’s way too formal. Hey everyone. Hi! [ The second man leans into the frame to add his greeting. ] Don’t panic. You were floating out there, but we pulled you in and rescued you. Yeah, we’re heroic AND handsome. And also the only ones crazy enough to come out here to get you. [ A woman’s voice calls from out of frame. ] Can you two be serious for ONE moment and stick to your scripts? [ The two men give each other a conspiratorial eyeroll. This does not appear to be their first take. ] Anyways, no need to panic. Seriously, don’t do anything reckless. We got our fill of that with Skywalker. [A huff is heard offscreen, and the men finally spare the tablet another glance.] ‘Your pilots will be navigating treacherous environs as this message plays…’ Claire, seriously? Nobody talks like this! [ The tablet is tossed to the side and lands with a thunk offscreen. ] We’re gonna wing it. Look, everyone, we’re workin’ hard to get you planetside safely, and it’s gonna take some tricky flying to do it. So the door to the cockpit is locked so we can focus on not getting us all killed. Don’t try to open it, unless you want to be stardust. We promise you’ll get answers about what’s going on once we land. But for now, please trust us. Right now, we’re your only hope. [ The second man leans forward, close to the recording device, and presses a button. The projection freezes for a moment, and then the message starts to play again. ] ’Welcome travelers’… CURTI CENTER [ Finally after hours of flight, you arrive at the Curti Center. The other NPCs await you along with the Native OCs. Cid gives a short and to the point welcome speech, explaining what the situation is: you were lost in a space called the Dream Width. You are now on a planet called Vaikuntha: for ages, the people of this world have used Airships to rescue people lost in the Dream Width, with one person being found roughly every ten years. No one knows why this happens, but this has been a mutually beneficial exchange, with the people from Vaikutha rescuing people lost in the Dream Width and the rescued ones sharing their wisdom with the people of Vaikuntha. Ten years ago, something unusual happened: two people were found at once, Biggs and Wedge. But that was nothing compared to what happened today. Indeed, here you are. No one knows why such a large number of people has been found at once, but the Curti Center is a place dedicated to piercing the Dream Width's secrets. Cid also introduces the other ones: his assistant Jessie, Claire, the woman looking at the group in horror upon being pointe out as the bookkeeper, Kupoto and Mogaruru, their Mognet representatives and finally the Native OCs: those brave and kind souls who have accepted to help you all on a daily basis. After Cid finishes (and Claire despairs at the pile of paperwork she must complete by the end of the week), the Native OCs provide a tour of the facility and help the newcomers navigate their future lives. Now is the time to ask questions and look over pamphlets regarding locations, Jobs, life in Vaikuntha... ] [ If you want to contact an NPC specifically during this introduction, please respond to the toplevel with the name of the NPC in the subject header. The mods will try to reply at least once a day for each NPC. ] A BALL OF FLUFF NAMED MOOGLE [ It has been a long day, perhaps now you would like to find your way to a place to sleep? Or perhaps you'd like to get some answers, but you can't be bothered to go seek people out? And lo, just as despair begins settles in, a Moogle slams into you! Or stops by your side if their aim is decent... It's the Moogle Cid mentioned in his speech earlier! And they'll be informing you that now, they will stick to you like your shadow and help you in anyway they can! They're also giving you your iMog Slate- Now you can get onto Mognet! Isn't it great? ] A QUICK CHECK-UP [ Whether it's your Moogle, Native OCs or NPCs, all will urge you to stop by the hospital wing for a basic check-up. You may disagree, but listen. You've just been thrown into a space between worlds, rescued, and brought to another world. For your own sake, that's a good idea. Should you give in and go (or should you be dragged by your Moogle or a Native OC), you will find yourself in the cold and white space very reminiscent of an hospital. For characters with specific medical conditions necessitating help, this is where they will receive it if asked. The doctors and nurses are all White Mages or Chemists, with various levels into their Job as well as medical knowledge. Don't mind the confused looks if you look like nothing they've ever seen before... It's hard for a doctor to be unable to give a proper diagnosis to a patient! For everyone else though, they'll be let go with smiles and be given a candy as they leave. No one likes medical check-ups, but it's a very quick and basic one: testing reflexes, taking your temperature and the likes. On the bright side, while you're grumpily sitting on a bed with a thermometer on your forehead or in your mouth, it might be a good time to socialize with your fellow new arrival who's having lights flashed into their eyes by a doctor. Misery loves company, after all. ] A BAD OMEN [ Wandering around, you may stumble upon an old and tired-looking moogle wearing what can only be described as a decrepit fortune-teller attire. Upon seeing you, or any of the new arrivals for that matter, he will slowly approach and tell you all the exact same speech. ] If you stay here, you're doomed. She will find you and make you suffer hell. [At which point his eyes will grow exorbitant.] This world is cursed. You will die and never be free. [And finally he'll fly right into your face.] Never! [ Then he will leave and go say his speech to someone else, without doing anything but repeating different variations of his warning if asked for details. Should you ask your assigned Moogle, Biggs or Wedge, they will mention this crazy moogle can't be reasoned with and sometimes stick around the center, even though he's always chased away. He never says anything besides doomsday predictions. For unknown reasons, he's always been particularly nasty with Biggs and Wedge... And with you as well now, it seems. ] PRETTY SIGHTS [ There's plenty of rooms to wander about in, with several points of interest apart from the offices. The Airship Hangar is where the airships are kept and the first room you entered. Workers keep guard to prevent the outworlders from getting too close to the vehicles. Airships are expensive and they don't want you messing with them, after all. Venturing into the Research Section, you can walk through public exhibitions on astronomy, airship design, and asterisk studies. A good place to get used to the basic science of this world. The laboratories lie behind a thick locked door with a sign reading "EMPLOYEES ONLY". No going there, for now anyway. Not too far from there are the Employee Quarters - work stations, apartments, and lounge areas. The latter are available to the public, whereas the rest is locked to Native OCs. But if you get them to be friends with you, perhaps they'll let you visit? Also open to all is a Cafeteria - a standard food court with stalls serving all types of Vaikunthan cuisine. The Chef is a very jovial and absent-minded Hypello. Beware of long lines and crowded tables. Should you prefer open spaces, then the gardens are for you! There are different sections in the gardens around the center. One boasts a wide array of blooming flowers, another more practical with herbs commonly used in Vaikunthan cooking. One had been cultivated for butterflies and hummingbirds to visit. Paths have been laid through so that visitors can safely navigate, and moogles will swoop down and shout at anyone who strays into the flower beds. Or perhaps, you want to wait till the sunset. Dusk on a new world, but a beginning of a new life... The sea shines bright in the orange light. A good moment for quiet contemplation. ] HOUSING [The housing accommodations are the best the Curti staff could provide, given the sudden and unexpected number of arrivals from the Dream Width. The keys have been entrusted to the moogles who will be guiding the new arrivals. The new arrivals can stop by the Curti Center storage room to collect some essential supplies that have been donated by charity organizations from around the world (there are boxes of toothbrushes and whitening toothpaste sent from the Zora, hair brushes from the Elezen, quick-drying towels from the Hypello, among the various donations of clothes, toiletries, and blankets), before heading to their temporary homes. The people of Vaikuntha have done their best to provide for their new neighbors and help them get on their feet. Still, things will be a little cramped until the off-worlders can find employment and move into better housing. The staff hopes they can get along with one another until alternate arrangements can be made. You can survive living with roommates for a few months, right?]

Comments

Housing

[sirenslight]

[Mythra just looks at the girl and blinks. A kid. A kid with excessive luggage. This is one of the people she’s staying with. She adjusts her position, from lying down on the couch to sitting up, putting her hands between her legs. Well, she at least should try and be friendly, if they are staying together.]

“Hey, Connie. My name’s Mythra. It’s nice to meet you too.” [She flashes her a bit of a smile.]

A Case of Mistaken Identities

[conniemaheswaran]

It takes slighting longer than normal for Connie to process what, exactly, Mythra is. Which is to say, two seconds instead of a quarter of that. Gem? Check. Diamonds everywhere? Check. Although that complexion and name suggests a hybrid, somehow, one thing is clear: Mythra is part of the Diamond Authority, and a high-ranking officer at that, considering how her outfit is on par with Hessonite's in terms of elaborate design.

Any soldier worth their salt can recognize that Connie has ever-so-subtly shifted into a combat stance, and a well-crafted one at that. Or at least she goes through the motions, considering how the Cloud took away most of Connie's martial skills, she has no idea whether the stance would hold up in an actual fight. Regardless, whoever trained this child knew their stuff. In a disconcertingly neutral tone of voice, Connie asks, "So. Which Court do you belong to?"

[sirenslight]

Mythra was no stranger to War. Her entire life had been composed of it from the moment she was awakened. She could see someone readying for combat when they displayed it. Her mind too shifted into analysis mode. Well trained, but young. The age meant she was likely inexperienced, or Irving she was a child soldier like those employed by a few nations back in the day, far more experienced than she looked. Mythra was tempted to lean towards the latter, judging by her ability to maintain calm so easily. Of course, Mythra didn’t understand what she meant by Courts and such. Perhaps she was talking about national affiliation. She was from a different world after all, so she could only guess

“No one’s. I don’t take orders from anyone,” She replied, her own posture stiffening, readying herself to counter any sort of attack made by her aggressor roommate. Well she supposed she took orders from her Driver, but given that he wasn’t here, no one would suffice. This was about national powers anyways.

[conniemaheswaran]

Connie scoffs. It was a good thing she was a human, really. Most Gems had a tendency to underestimate organic life forms. Then again, Mythra was also smart enough to clock her knowledge of their kind as a sign she was part of the Crystal Gems and try to play to her sympathies, so she couldn't let down her guard. "Oh, don't play dumb with me. I know at the very least that you're part of the Diamond Authority. Any real Crystal Gem would rather poof herself and reform without the diamond sigil rather than let herself be marked as their property." Connie stares at Mythra intently, then relaxes slightly. Key word being slightly. Mythra looked fairly human, so maybe she was the Authority's take on hybridization? That would explain her uniform if she truly did belong to no one. "...of course, you may not have that capability if my hunch is right. Are you a hybrid?"

[sirenslight]

“I’m not a ‘hybrid’ or a ‘Crystal Gem’ or whatever. I’m a Blade! I’m an Aegis! It’s, a different thing.” Confusing things for stuff from their own worlds made sense. But as the medical exam earlier had taught her, she couldn’t instantly regenerate anymore. So, whatever this poor and reforming was, perhaps something like returning to the Core Crystal, Mythra couldn’t do it. She didn’t have a Driver, or regeneration. Though, if she did get one here, maybe that’d be on the table. But nonetheless, Mythra felt the need to clear this up. Being compared to some sort of weird organization she knew nothing about was kind of insulting. “Does your world have, AIs? It’s more like that. I’m an AI with a flesh body formed from this thing.” She taps the emerald core crystal on her chest. “That’s what Blades are. Is that, anything like these so called gems you’re talking about?”

[conniemaheswaran]

Connie drops her guard completely midway through Mythra's rant, although she begins blushing with embarrassment. "Yeah, the Gems are... kinda like that, I guess. Except without the flesh part." She sighs, rubbing the back of her head. Now she felt like a complete idiot. "S-Sorry, by the way. I'm just way too used to Gems with those kind of uniforms trying to kill or abduct me. And, um, they tried to conquer my planet a long time ago, so I have a duty to fight them anyways."

[sirenslight]

“It’s fine. I’d react that way too if I was encountering a sworn enemy like that,” She goes right back to down on the couch, still facing towards Connie. So, these gems were some sort of planet conquering aliens, she gathered, with Core Crystals like Blades. Though, whether or not they needed a Driver, she doubted. But Mythra was trying her best here to be understanding, because she really did not want to have a bad living situation for the next few months. But that proved her initial hunch was right. Connie was some sort of child soldier. Mythra would ask, but without context, it probably wouldn’t make much sense. “So, I guess fighting these gems is where you picked up your skills, right?”

[conniemaheswaran]

Connie grimaces, sitting down with Mythra. As if she could actually fight real Gems when they were trying. The idea was ridiculous. She couldn't even beat one Topaz on her own. "...kinda. It's more like I learned to fight first before actually battling any Gems. My teacher, um, Pearl, is one of the rebels, and when the Diamond Authority started taking an interest in Earth again, she trained me so I could help protect my home." Not that it made much of a difference in the end.

"I got pretty good at swordfighting. I even beat a few Corrupted Gems, destroyed at least a hundred Prism Constructs, and forced Hessonite into retreat. But..." Connie shakes her head. "Nevermind. I guess none of that matters now. We're all starting from square one again, right?"

[sirenslight]

“I’m a lot less dangerous, it’s true. But... maybe that’s not such a bad thing.” After all, was that not the point of her journey to Elysium? To remove her power from the world. Malos has been stopped, there was no real need for it. She couldn’t hurt anyone else, couldn’t destroy any more titans, couldn’t ruin things for the world just by existing. This, this was exactly what she had wanted.... and she wasn’t even gone. But, it was hollow. Pyra and Rex and Nia and, everyone. None of them were here. But, Rex and Pyra were probably just glad she was gone, glad she wasn’t complicating their relationship. She sat up, putting her knees up and wrapping her arms around them. “...I just don’t know.”

[conniemaheswaran]

Connie was intimately familiar with the Traumatic Fetal Position and all its connotations. Both from experiences in real life and from consuming far too much media than was probably healthy. "I want to get home," If that's even possible, "since I've got a planet to protect and all, but... this might be a great fresh start for some people."

[sirenslight]

“I, I guess.” And Mythra was thrown out of her moping, out of her position, realizing just what exactly she was doing. She adjusted herself, sitting normally with her hands rested in her lap. No. She is not going to be getting into anything that heavy, especially in front of the kid. It took extreme duress for Rex to force it out of her, and he was her Driver. Connie couldn’t know. About what she had done, about how she felt about it, about any of it. Though, Mythra has a feeling she might try and press...

[conniemaheswaran]

Surprisingly, she doesn't. Connie is just content to sit quietly with Mythra on the couch as the two of them wait for their final roommate to arrive. Sometimes, people need quiet. Connie knew that well enough.

[sirenslight]

Eventually, Mythra breaks her silence, rises herself from her silent reverie. She looks over at Connie, intrigued. Connie is perhaps one of the sanest people she’s met so far on this very turbulent day. It’s a bit of a comfort. With Connie there were no intrusions, no insanity, just, calm talking. Besides the initial mixup anyways. She speaks forwards, looking down at the floor. “I guess, we’re both in the same boat, now aren’t we?

[conniemaheswaran]

Connie smiles wanly. She could sense something of a kindred spirit within Mythra. She was another soldier, another fighter, another knight suddenly robbed of a cause. Well, they'd have to champion their own selves now, Connie supposed. "Yeah. That we are.”

She sighs, rubbing her right shoulder where a Prism Construct had left a scattering of bumpy scars from its mace. “You know, ever since I became a Crystal Gem, there was always something or someone to fight, some threat looming over the horizon that I had to deal with before it destroyed everyone I knew and loved." She clenches and unclenches her fist. "But... none of that is on Vaikuntha. No Homeworld. No Prism. No Cluster. No Corrupted Gems. It's oddly relieving and terrifying at the same time to be just robbed of your duty like that."

[sirenslight]

“Yeah. We Blades rely on our Drivers for input. We’re connected. Without them, it’s, an adjustment. All of this is.” She wasn’t used to being the one controlling her own inputs and choices, rather than merely following someone else. It really was funny. Her most treasured memories were those with Addam during the War, of the people she met while fighting. Most humans seemed to hate war, to be changed by combat and death. But Blades were suited for it. Mythra didn’t like killing, didn’t like hurting people, even if she didn’t hesitate to. However, she was still good at it, and she didn’t know whether that was a good or a bad thing.

“But I guess that means I need someone else to direct me then.” She’d Find someone worthy of that one day, there had to be one person like that amongst her fellow arrivals from the Dream Width. Or maybe she would run into one later.

[conniemaheswaran]

Connie's eyes widen at that, Mythra's words clashing with everything that the Crystal Gems stood for. Her mindset was exactly the kind of indoctrination they fought to free Gems from! And even some of their own number were never quite unshackled from the chains of obedience. She recalled Pearl's words: "Everything I ever did, I did for her! But now she's gone... and I'm still here."

"Mythra, I..." she pauses, searching for the right words. "Here, you don't need anybody to tell you what to do. It might be scary, but you can finally be your own person here if you want, rather than just following somebody else's orders."

[sirenslight]

Except while that might be indoctrination for gems, it was the way the Blades were designed. No Blade could exist without their Driver. It was a fact. They didn't have to obey them, but if the Blade died, the Driver could keep living, while if the Driver died, the Blade would return to its Core Crystal, and lose its memories. It was a simple fact of their existence. Aegises didn't require a Driver to live, unlike other Blades. It was one part of what made them special. But they had something else. Their minds were shaped by those that were their Drivers, by the people they cared about. Malos had been corrupted by Amalthus and then intentionally made himself the weapon of Jin's vengeance. She had spent time bonded with both Addam and Rex, and she wondered just how much of her attitude was really her own, and how much of it was Addam's. The line was a blurry one.

"My own person... I thought I already was," She replied.

[conniemaheswaran]

"I... hm." Under normal circumstances, Connie would probably draw off of Pearl's epic retellings of the rebellion, a variety of rousing speeches from some of her favorite novels, and Steven's... Steven-ness to come up with something that could properly express what she meant to Mythra. Unfortunately, she didn't have much energy right now, so something simpler would have to do.

"I don't have your perspective on things. We're, um, pretty different. Obviously. But... I dunno. Obeying somebody's orders completely and blindly just because you're supposed to sounds pretty dangerous to me. I mean, my planet was almost destroyed because of that. Then again, I don't really know what your own world was like, so I can't really pass any judgment."

[sirenslight]

The thought had never occurred to Mythra before. Rex and Addam were good men, sometimes a bit too good in her opinion. But that sentiment, the idea of freeing Blades from the control of humans, that had been what Jin was doing. And what had he done but kill hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people. And yet Amalthus, the opposite extreme, who expected complete subservience from all Blades. Was he not the one responsible for everything? Addam had always told her Blades and Drivers needed each other, weren’t at full strength without each other. That there had to be a strong bond of trust between them. That they needed each other, in a way. She had always believed that to be true. And yet, here was this girl contradicting that very base assumption.

“I never had a reason to question them, a reason to go against them. My Drivers are very good people, who worked to protect the world. I know not all humans use their Blades like that, I’ve seen it. And I have made my own choices, and they backfired. Most of all, I have never operated fully without a Driver before. I can obviously do stuff without him but, it’s new. It’s, terrifying, to just be thrust into a world where I suddenly have no one to guide me. I, don’t even know what I want to do.”

[conniemaheswaran]

Although Connie had never talked with Peridot at length except during their missions out in the Strawberry Battlefield, she recognized that some sort of confusion that the Gem had when she had first betrayed Yellow Diamond. "Well, after hearing something like that, it's Crystal Gem custom to say, 'Welcome to Earth,' but, y'know." Connie chuckles mirthlessly.

"This time, make your own purpose. Figure out who you are, not who your Driver needs you to be. Screw up. Make mistakes. Then learn from them and do better. That's what free will is about. I know it's scary, but trust me, I know somebody who was pretty much in the exact situation you're in right now. When she made the choice to start making choices, she became one of the best people I've had the privilege of knowing."

[sirenslight]

Mythra thought for a while. Who was she? She waste Aegis, the Master Blade, an AI designed to process the data received from the core crystals of all Bladed and further their evolution. That was what she was created for. For Addam, she has been his closest companion and ally, and the weapon to defeat Malos. And to Rex...well, he was one of the only people who really understood her. She didn’t have a concrete purpose to him, she supposed, other than his friend. He didn’t have anything he wanted her to he other than herself. But he had needed her to be his sword, he had needed her to fight with him to defeat Malos. And she had been happy to. But now that no one needed anything from her, she had to figure out what she needed. What she wanted. Who exactly she was, when she wasn’t the Aegis.

“Well to make choices, I need an actual motivation. Everyone I care about is dead or disconnected from me. I don’t have anything valuable here. I’m pretty much worthless without my power! So I have nothing!” Nothing, except her memories. And wasn’t that why she was still living? Why she hadn’t gone through with her plan, why she hadn’t gotten her Father to end her existence? Because she had memories, had experiences, which were worth preserving. Except Pyra was still alive in that world, so if she died here, those experiences would still end up living in anyways. Although, she supposed, their memories, while shared, were different depending on their holder. So perhaps they would not live if she died, through her sister. Mythra dug her nails into her palms, frustration welling up.

[conniemaheswaran]

"What they don't know is your real advantage: when you live for someone, you're prepared to die!" Connie starts, eyes wide. Mythra had hit a nerve. For far too long, she had evaluated her own worth only in the terms of how she could best serve Steven and the Gems, how good she was at fighting. But there was more to a life than that. Steven had shown her that.

"Mythra..." Connie reaches out to hold Mythra's hand. "You aren't your power. You're you, even if you think only your abilities as a blade define you. And you can forge new friends, make new memories. You aren't alone."

[sirenslight]

Mythra let Connie grip her hand, and considered that. Rex Nia, all of them hadn’t seen her as the Aegis. All of them saw her for her, and Pyra for Pyra. Even her Father had come to acknowledge their personhood. But yet, Mythra couldn’t do the same for herself. Pyra had done it for her, and in that moment Mythra longed for her sister. Pyra would get this, Pyra would understand, she was always better with feelings than Mythra had been. So she looked over at Connie, and smiled.

“...Right. Well, not like I have a choice in the matter, given that I’m trapped here.” She laughed a little, and added, “And I mean, you’re here, so I’m obviously not alone right now.”

[conniemaheswaran]

"And I think you're going to be stuck with me for a while whether you like it or not, considering that we're going to be roommates for a few months," Connie says, tone slightly teasing, but genuine worth resides in her voice. She's content to once more just sit in silence with Mythra, holding her hand and glad that she managed to help her in whatever way she could.

[sirenslight]

“Well, you’re better than some people I could’ve been stuck with, so I think I’ll do fine.” She could be satisfied with this arrangement, and also think about all the hard identity stuff later. She’d had a long day, Now was not the time. She just let herself sit with Connie in silence, and actually relax a little.